the study proposes a students‟ traditional knowledge incorporated science education.
It enables knowledge internalization among the students to develop positive attitude and awareness to address sustainability.
(c) Relevance of science
Relevance of science is defined as importance, usefulness and meaningfulness of science to the needs of the students (Levitt, 2001). It refers to students‟ perception of whether the content or instruction satisfied his/her personal needs personal goals and career goals (Keller, 1983). In this study, it refers to the Form Four Malaysian Indian science stream students‟ ability to relate their daily life experiences with their classroom science and satisfy their need to link science in their daily life practices.
(d) Attitude towards science
Attitude towards science can be referred as the degree of liking that students have for science (Oliver & Simpson, 1988) and their classroom science. This can be based on their interest, concern, priority, belief and opinion on science and technology. It involves cognitive, affective and behavioral components (Salta &
Tzougraki, 2004). In this context, it refers to the Form Four Malaysian Indian science stream student‟s tendency to think, feel and act positively or negatively to the environment and environmental issues.
(e) Awareness of the relevance of science
Western culture links science, classroom science and everyday practices in a hierarchical order where it place the cognitive and knowledge as the goal to create awareness among students. But, recent science and science educational researches emphasis cognitive, effective and behavioral elements to be interrelated in creating
awareness among students to see the relevance of science and their classroom in their daily practices, where it involves cognitive functioning that triggers the emotional reactions (Lewicki, Czyzewska & Hoffman, 1987) to participate in preserving and protecting the environment, socio-economic and humanities well-being. In this context, it refers to the magnitude of influence in Form Four Malaysian Indian science stream students to the commit, participate and perform on nature management and environmental issues.
(f) Indian traditional knowledge
Indian traditional knowledge (ITK) represents knowledge and experience acquired over thousands of years of direct contact with the environment by people lived in the land of India (Shiva, 2000). ITK and lifestyles is believed should able to offer modern societies many lessons in the management of resources and to solve economic, social and environmental problems to achieve sustainability. According to Brahmananda (2011) ITK is a holistic knowledge that constituent into cultural, religious and spiritual practices. It is expressed through their cultural practices, artifacts, cultural property including symbols, archaeological, sacred sites and objects, language, music, legends, religions, beliefs, thought system and wisdom. In this context, it refers to Malaysian Indians‟ home practices that still intact with their traditional knowledge in managing and sustaining the world natural resources.
(g) Culture
In early anthropological literature culture is defined as the “knowledge, belief, law, morals, and customs” (Tylor, 1871, p.46) that are passed down from one generation to another within a particular society or group of people. As Aikenhead (1996; 1997) claims, culture refers to the background of the students which are embedded in the racial and ethnic identities. It provides a frame of reference that classifies one‟s heritage, values and social traditions. In particular, culture constitutes of beliefs, customs, traditions, languages, ceremonies, arts, values and the way of life.
In this context, it refers to Malaysian Indian culture that develops through rich day to day experiences that been safeguarded by beliefs, values, virtues, knowledge and customary acts for a long period of time.
(h) Religion
Religion teaches humanity to lead a life in a God‟s physical manifested world in meaningful manner. It saves man from destruction and gives the desire for life which is shown in their self-contained acts. It assures the victory of the traditions and culture to integrate solidarity of a community and establish its morale (Malinowski, 1954). It gives meaning for the human continuity with a well guarded tradition to manage the material world. In this context, it refers to religious and spiritual practices in Indian Hindu community.
(i) Malaysian Indian students
Malaysian Formal Education System offers two types of streaming for secondary school students. They are relatively Art stream and Science stream. The science stream emphasizes pure science subjects such as Biology, Physics and Chemistry. The Pure Science subjects are the core subjects of the course which are being taught from Form Four to Form Five. For this study, the term Malaysian Indian students refer to the Malaysian Indian ethnic students studying in government aided secondary schools and in Form Four science stream classes in Kuala Muda/Yan and Kulim/Bandar Bahru districts.
(j) Malaysian Indian parents
Malaysian Indian parents refer to people those their children are studying in Form Four science stream classes in government aided secondary schools in Kuala Muda/Yan and Kulim/Bandar Bahru districts currently. They lead an ordinary life and non-expert and non authorized in the knowledge related to the field of research. They will describe a complex and technical issues using words and terms that could be comprehend without much effort.
(k) Food and diet
Birch (1999) stated that early determinant of food and diet preference and choices is readily shaped by the situations in which food is available due to parental guidance. Family background and cultural influence is the main determinant in the
food choices and preference in a child‟s growth in early stage. Peer influence and the surrounding environment and their classroom science will be an influencing factor in as they get older. In this context it refers to type of food that raised, processed, preserved, cooked and consumed in a practical and cultural way in Indian families to promote health and long life for their children and food practices that children‟s imply in their daily lives.
(l) Disease prevention and healing activities
It can be defined as practices prior to the biological origin of a disease, practices made after disease is recognized to hinder further sufferings and practice after the sufferings to avoid further deterioration that practiced by families and communities that includes socio-economic, cultural-religious and functional concern (Like, Steiner & Rubel, 2010). In this study, it refers to the Indian students and their parents‟ daily practices on culturally sensitive and competence disease prevention and healing activities in maintaining physical, mental and emotional health and how science and the students‟ classroom science is relevant for them to see the link between their cultural practices and science knowledge.
(m) Environment friendly practices
Current practices and nature values of a society formulate the goal and intention to save the biodiversity (Ferraro & Simpson, 2005) and improve the quality of the environment. In this context, it refers to ecologically conscious Indians daily life practices that inflict minimal or no harm to the environment. It focuses on
environmental friendly practices and environment friendly lifestyles by Indians parents and their children in their daily life. It also meant to show their understanding of how their daily life practces are interconnected with everything around them and how they develop the right attitude and awareness for better management of natural resources for sustainability.
(n) Daily practices
According to de Certeau (1984) daily practices refers to the habitual performance of students or their family members of what they do, how they do it, their preference, goal and belief in life or application of what they have learn from outside world. In this study, it refers to the science teachers, science and classroom science that being the centre for the Form Four Malaysian Indian science stream students to seek the relevance of their classroom science in their daily activities and to develop new or creative thinking to find meaning for what they have learn with their daily lives.
